Protocol of 1996 to
amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of
19 November 1976

(London, 2 May 1996)

THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT PROTOCOL,

CONSIDERING that it is desirable to
amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, done
at London on 19 November 1976, to provide for enhanced compensation and
to establish a simplified procedure for updating the limitation amounts,

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Protocol:

1. "Convention" means the Convention on Limitation
of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976.

2. "Organization" means the International
Maritime Organization.

3. "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General
of the Organization.

Article 2

Article 3, subparagraph (a) of the Convention
is replaced by the following text:

(a) claims for salvage, including, if applicable,
any claim for special compensation under Article 14 of the International
Convention on Salvage 1989, as amended, or contribution in general average;

Article 3

Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention is
replaced by the following text:

1. The limits of liability for claims other
than those mentioned in Article 7, arising on any distinct occasion, shall
be calculated as follows:

(a) in respect of claims for loss of life
or personal injury,

(i) 2 million Units of Account for a ship
with a tonnage not exceeding 2,000 tons,

(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof,
the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):

for each ton from 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 800
Units of Account;

for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 600
Units of Account; and

for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 400
Units of Account,

(b) in respect of any other claims,

(i) 1 million Units of Account for a ship
with a tonnage not exceeding 2,000 tons,

(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof,
the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):

for each ton from 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 400
Units of Account;

for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 300
Units of Account; and

for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 200
Units of Account.

Article 4

Article 7, paragraph 1 of the Convention is
replaced by the following text:

1. In respect of claims arising on any distinct
occasion for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship, the
limit of liability of the shipowner thereof shall be an amount of 175,000
Units of Account multiplied by the number of passengers which the ship
is authorized to carry according to the ship's certificate.

Article 5

Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Convention is
replaced by the following text:

2. Nevertheless, those States which are not
members of the International Monetary Fund and whose law does not permit
the application of the provisions of paragraph 1 may, at the time of signature
without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or at the
time of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession or at any time
thereafter, declare that the limits of liability provided for in this Convention
to be applied in their territories shall be fixed as follows:

(a) in respect of Article 6, paragraph 1(a),
at an amount of

(i) 30 million monetary units for a ship with
a tonnage not exceeding 2,000 tons;

(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof,
the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):

for each ton from 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 12,000
monetary units;

for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 9,000
monetary units; and

for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 6,000
monetary units; and

(b) in respect of Article 6, paragraph 1(b),
at an amount of:

(i) 15 million monetary units for a ship with
a tonnage not exceeding 2,000 tons;

(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof,
the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):

for each ton from 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 6,000
monetary units;

for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 4,500
monetary units; and

for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 3,000
monetary units; and

(c) in respect of Article 7, paragraph 1,
at an amount of 2,625,000 monetary units multiplied by the number of passengers
which the ship is authorized to carry according to its certificate.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 6 apply correspondingly
to subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

Article 6

The following text is added as paragraph 3bis
in Article 15 of the Convention:

3bis Notwithstanding the limit of liability
prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 7, a State Party may regulate by specific
provisions of national law the system of liability to be applied to claims
for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship, provided that
the limit of liability is not lower than that prescribed in paragraph 1
of Article 7. A State Party which makes use of the option provided for
in this paragraph shall inform the Secretary-General of the limits of liability
adopted or of the fact that there are none.

Article 7

Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Convention
is replaced by the following text:

1. Any State may, at the time of signature,
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any time thereafter,
reserve the right:

(a) to exclude the application of Article
2, paragraphs 1(d) and (e);

(b) to exclude claims for damage within the
meaning of the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for
Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances
by Sea, 1996 or of any amendment or protocol thereto.

No other reservations shall be admissible
to the substantive provisions of this Convention.

Article 8

Amendment of limits

1. Upon the request of at least one half,
but in no case less than six, of the States Parties to this Protocol, any
proposal to amend the limits specified in Article 6, paragraph 1, Article
7, paragraph 1 and Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Convention as amended
by this Protocol shall be circulated by the Secretary-General to all Members
of the Organization and to all Contracting States.

2. Any amendment proposed and circulated as
above shall be submitted to the Legal Committee of the Organization (the
Legal Committee) for consideration at a date at least six months after
the date of its circulation.

3. All Contracting States to the Convention
as amended by this Protocol, whether or not Members of the Organization,
shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings of the Legal Committee
for the consideration and adoption of amendments.

4. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds
majority of the Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this
Protocol present and voting in the Legal Committee expanded as provided
for in paragraph 3, on condition that at least one half of the Contracting
States to the Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be present at
the time of voting.

5. When acting on a proposal to amend the
limits, the Legal Committee shall take into account the experience of incidents
and, in particular, the amount of damage resulting therefrom, changes in
the monetary values and the effect of the proposed amendment on the cost
of insurance.

6. (a) No amendment of the limits under this
Article may be considered less than five years from the date on which this
Protocol was opened for signature nor less than five years from the date
of entry into force of a previous amendment under this Article.

(b) No limit may be increased so as to exceed
an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as
amended by this Protocol increased by six percent per year calculated on
a compound basis from the date on which this Protocol was opened for signature.

(c) No limit may be increased so as to exceed
an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as
amended by this Protocol multiplied by three.

7. Any amendment adopted in accordance with
paragraph 4 shall be notified by the Organization to all Contracting States.
The amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted at the end of a period
of eighteen months after the date of notification, unless within that period
not less than one-fourth of the States that were Contracting States at
the time of the adoption of the amendment have communicated to the Secretary-General
that they do not accept the amendment, in which case the amendment is rejected
and shall have no effect.

8. An amendment deemed to have been accepted
in accordance with paragraph 7 shall enter into force eighteen months after
its acceptance.

9. All Contracting States shall be bound by
the amendment, unless they denounce this Protocol in accordance with paragraphs
1 and 2 of Article 12 at least six months before the amendment enters into
force. Such denunciation shall take effect when the amendment enters into
force.

10. When an amendment has been adopted but
the eighteen-month period for its acceptance has not yet expired, a State
which becomes a Contracting State during that period shall be bound by
the amendment if it enters into force. A State which becomes a Contracting
State after that period shall be bound by an amendment which has been accepted
in accordance with paragraph 7. In the cases referred to in this paragraph,
a State becomes bound by an amendment when that amendment enters into force,
or when this Protocol enters into force for that State, if later.

Article 9

1. The Convention and this Protocol shall,
as between the Parties to this Protocol, be read and interpreted together
as one single instrument.

2. A State which is Party to this Protocol
but not a Party to the Convention shall be bound by the provisions of the
Convention as amended by this Protocol in relation to other States Parties
hereto, but shall not be bound by the provisions of the Convention in relation
to States Parties only to the Convention.

3. The Convention as amended by this Protocol
shall apply only to claims arising out of occurrences which take place
after the entry into force for each State of this Protocol.

4. Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the
obligations of a State which is a Party both to the Convention and to this
Protocol with respect to a State which is a Party to the Convention but
not a Party to this Protocol.

FINAL CLAUSES

Article 10

Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval
and accession

l. This Protocol shall be open for signature
at the Headquarters of the Organization from 1 October 1996 to 30 September
1997 by all States.

2. Any State may express its consent to be
bound by this Protocol by:

(a) signature without reservation as to ratification,
acceptance or approval; or

(b) signature subject to ratification, acceptance
or approval followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or

(c) accession.

3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the
Secretary-General.

4. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession deposited after the entry into force of an amendment
to the Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be deemed to apply
to the Convention so amended, as modified by such amendment.

Article 11

Entry into force

1. This Protocol shall enter into force ninety
days following the date on which ten States have expressed their consent
to be bound by it.

2. For any State which expresses its consent
to be bound by this Protocol after the conditions in paragraph 1 for entry
into force have been met, this Protocol shall enter into force ninety days
following the date of expression of such consent.

Article 12

Denunciation

1. This Protocol may be denounced by any State
Party at any time after the date on which it enters into force for that
State Party.

2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit
of an instrument of denunciation with the Secretary-General.

3. A denunciation shall take effect twelve
months, or such longer period as may be specified in the instrument of
denunciation, after its deposit with the Secretary-General.

4. As between the States Parties to this Protocol,
denunciation by any of them of the Convention in accordance with Article
19 thereof shall not be construed in any way as a denunciation of the Convention
as amended by this Protocol.

Article 13

Revision and amendment

1. A conference for the purpose of revising
or amending this Protocol may be convened by the Organization.

2. The Organization shall convene a conference
of Contracting States to this Protocol for revising or amending it at the
request of not less than one-third of the Contracting States.

Article 14

Depositary

1. This Protocol and any amendments adopted
under Article 8 shall be deposited with the Secretary General.

2. The Secretary-General shall:

(a) inform all States which have signed or
acceded to this Protocol of:

(i) each new signature or deposit of an instrument
together with the date thereof;

(ii) each declaration and communication under
Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Convention as amended by this Protocol, and
Article 8, paragraph 4 of the Convention;

(iii) the date of entry into force of this
Protocol;

(iv) any proposal to amend limits which has
been made in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 1;

(v) any amendment which has been adopted in
accordance with Article 8, paragraph 4;

(vi) any amendment deemed to have been accepted
under Article 8, paragraph 7, together with the date on which that amendment
shall enter into force in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 of that Article;

(vii) the deposit of any instrument of denunciation
of this Protocol together with the date of the deposit and the date on
which it takes effect;

(b) transmit certified true copies of this
Protocol to all Signatory States and to all States which accede to this
Protocol.

3. As soon as this Protocol enters into force,
the text shall be transmitted by the Secretary-General to the Secretariat
of the United Nations for registration and publication in accordance with
Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 15

Languages

This Protocol is established in a single original
in the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish languages,
each text being equally authentic

DONE at London this second day of May
one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned,
being duly authorized by their respective Governments for that purpose,
have signed this Protocol.